Article Abstracts

Volume 51, No. 3

The proliferation of multiple versions for bibliographic works presents numerous challenges to the cataloger and, by extension, to the catalog user. Fifteen years after the Multiple Versions Forum held in Airlie, Virginia, online public access catalog (OPAC) users continue to grapple with confusing displays representing numerous serial manifestations (i.e., versions) resulting from the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules’ (AACR2) cardinal principle (Rule 0.24). Two initiatives offer hope for more coherent OPAC displays in light of a renewed focus upon user needs: the ongoing revision of AACR2, and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions’ Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) model. A third potential tool for improving OPAC displays exists within a series of standards that have developed to parallel library needs, and today offer a robust communications medium: the MARC 21 authority, bibliographic, and holdings formats. This paper summarizes the challenges posed by multiple versions and presents an analysis of current and emerging solutions.

Cross-lingual Name and Subject Access: Mechanisms and Challenge

Jung-ran Park

This paper considers issues surrounding name and subject access across languages and cultures, particularly mechanisms and knowledge organization tools (e.g., cataloging, metadata) for cross-lingual information access. The author examines current mechanisms for cross-lingual name and subject access and identifies major factors that hinder cross-lingual information access. The author provides examples from the Korean language that demonstrate the problems with cross-language name and subject access.

This study examines problems caused by initial articles in library catalogs. The problematic records observed are those whose titles begin with a word erroneously considered to be an article at the retrieval stage. Many retrieval algorithms edit queries by removing initial words corresponding to articles found in an exclusion list even whether the initial word is an article or not. Consequently, a certain number of documents remain more difficult to find. The study also examines user behavior during known-item retrieval using the title index in library catalogs, concentrating on the problems caused by the presence of an initial article or of a word homograph to an article. Measures of success and effectiveness are taken to determine if retrieval is affected in such cases.

Communications in the workflow of electronic resources (e-resources) acquisitions and management are complex and numerous. The work of acquiring and managing e-resources is hampered by the lack of best practices, standards, and adequate personal information management software. The related communications reflect these inadequacies. An e-resource management communications analysis at The Ohio State University Libraries revealed the underlying structure of the communication network and areas that could be improved in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. E-resources management must be responsive to the high expectations of users and other library staff. Efficient management of the related communications network increases the likelihood of a productive and successful operation.

The explosive growth of remote access electronic resources (e-resources) has added to the workload of libraries’ cataloging departments. In response to this challenge, librarians developed various ways of providing access to electronic collections, but few dealt with the processing of free remote access e-resources, such as electronic books, Web sites, and databases. This paper will consider the various approaches taken by cataloging agencies to process Internet resources in all formats. It will then go on to describe Columbia University Libraries’ approach to cataloging free Internet resources using a combination of selector input data, an automated form able to convert the information into MARC records, access level records, and cataloging expertise.